Immigration
Just a few hours ago, Monday, May 15, 2006, President Bush spoke to the nation about the effects of illegal immigration and what he proposes our country do to help resolve the issue. There is agreement on my part with some of the things he had to say. Our President offered five objectives in his speech. In my view, although I do not agree with everything said, he did come close to hitting the mark.
Objective #1 – Securing the Borders: He did not suggest a 12,000 mile wall. Thank goodness for that. I am amazed at the number of adult men and women, some in our Congress, who honestly believe in such a thing. Our President gets points for not supporting such a ridiculous idea.
What he does suggest is implementing current and new technologies and doubling the border patrol. This is a very visible plan, but not one that will amount to much. He also talked about expanding the number of beds in detention facilities and ending the “catch and release” practice our country uses with immigrants of other countries.
My questions include: What does “catch and release” have to do with the Mexican border? How does increasing the number of beds in detention facilities really help the situation? It appears that we are addressing symptoms and not the disease.
Objective #2 – Temporary Worker Program: Our President said, “They walk across miles of desert in the summer heat, or hide in the back of 18-wheelers to reach our country.” He is right. This has to stop. Men, women and children are put in physical danger needlessly. As long as there is money and shelter on the other side, no wall is going to stop them. People are literally dying to get here.
Will a Temporary Worker Program help? In his speech tonight, our President said, “A temporary worker program would meet the needs of our economy, and it would give honest immigrants a way to provide for their families while respecting the law. A temporary worker program would reduce the appeal of human smugglers, and make it less likely that people would risk their lives to cross the border. It would ease the financial burden on state and local governments by replacing illegal workers with lawful taxpayers.”
If this program will truly cut down on human smugglers and make it less likely for people to risk their lives, I am for it. I am not convinced that this alone will solve the problem. Of course, he really it is not depending on this alone (is he?). That is why he has five objectives.
Objective #3 – Tamper Proof Identification: I like this one. Will country follow through with the plan? If employers are prosecuted for hiring anyone who is not an American and does not carry this identification, then I am a whole-hearted supporter.
Of course, this is not the emphasis that our President offers. He does not mention prosecuting employers during this objective. He simply says it will make it “harder for illegal immigrants to find work in our country”. These are not exactly fear-causing words.
Objective #4 – Opposition to Amnesty: This does not sound like an objective, but an opinion. However, I agree with our President on this one, too. He says, “Some in this country argue that the solution is to deport every illegal immigrant -- and that any proposal short of this amounts to amnesty. I disagree. It is neither wise nor realistic to round up millions of people, many with deep roots in the United States, and send them across the border.” I am as amazed about this as I am about the 12,000 mile wall.
Seemingly intelligent men and women are screaming for every illegal alien to be deported. I feel like I am in a Twilight Zone episode to see that President Bush is a “voice of reason” on this point.
Where I get lost is this insistence on people who come to America to learn to speak English. I would believe they would want to learn to speak English in order to assimilate into society, but why insist? Most people I know learn how to drive at sixteen but many people in cities do not drive cars. Do we need to deport them for finding alternative ways of transportation? Why fuss about people who can capably communicate, just not in the same language as the majority of our country?
Objective #5 – The American Melting Pot: Again, no real objective here, but this is the point the flute and drum start up behind the speaker and the flags begin to wave. This section appears to be more about speaking English than anything else.
Earlier today I listened to Senator Barack Obama’s podcast of 05/04/06 (I know. I am behind). It can be found at Senator Obama’s website. In it he refers to a “servant class”. He is talking about people who mow lawns and pick lettuce and do the jobs regular Americans do not want. This sounds an awful lot to me like a class of people in America back in the 19th century. These were people doing work that “regular Americans” would not do. They were not paid the way “regular Americans” were paid. They were not expected to pay taxes. They were not treated as citizens. One difference I see between the “servant class” of the 21st century and that of the 19th century is that the current group comes here voluntarily.
The most important objective is the one that our President didn’t specifically outline but simply brushed over amid his other objectives. The closest he comes is saying, “A tamper-proof card would help us enforce the law, and leave employers with no excuse for violating it.” It does not define what we will do to employers, but it is a message of sorts that people employing illegal immigrants must stop.
We must prosecute Americans. I know that is a bitter pill, but if you want to stop illegal immigration you must stop worrying about those coming in and stop the ones giving them the money and shelter they seek.
In March of this year, Molly Ivins wrote, " You can also imprison the corporate official who actually hired the illegal and, just to make sure, put some Betty Sue Billups -- housewife, preferably one with blonde hair in a flip -- in the joint for a two-year stretch for hiring a Mexican gardener. Thus Americans are reminded that the law says it is illegal to hire illegal workers and that anyone who hires one is responsible for verifying whether or not his or her papers are in order. If you get fooled and one slips by you, too bad, you go to jail anyway. When there are no jobs for illegal workers, they do not come. Got it?”
The talk of immigration is an incredible red herring. It is intended to distract us from the real issues of the day. Those currently in office do not want us thinking about Iraq, Iran, Abramoff, New Orleans and other dubious issues. They want us to believe that illegal immigrants are our enemy.
As Obama and so many others have stated, written and reported, the problem if illegal immigration has been in our country for years. Will this President’s proposal resolve it? No, but if implemented correctly, it may help.
The real question is: Will it be implemented correctly? If the past six years are any example, we may be witnessing the start of another mission with a messy outcome.
If you have an opinion, now is the time to make it known. Do not wait. Write, call, email, shout, sing, scream, pray aloud, do a dance, or whatever you can think to make an impact. Get in touch with a Congressman or Senator or even your local paper.
Remember that this is still America. Ideas are welcome.
Objective #1 – Securing the Borders: He did not suggest a 12,000 mile wall. Thank goodness for that. I am amazed at the number of adult men and women, some in our Congress, who honestly believe in such a thing. Our President gets points for not supporting such a ridiculous idea.
What he does suggest is implementing current and new technologies and doubling the border patrol. This is a very visible plan, but not one that will amount to much. He also talked about expanding the number of beds in detention facilities and ending the “catch and release” practice our country uses with immigrants of other countries.
My questions include: What does “catch and release” have to do with the Mexican border? How does increasing the number of beds in detention facilities really help the situation? It appears that we are addressing symptoms and not the disease.
Objective #2 – Temporary Worker Program: Our President said, “They walk across miles of desert in the summer heat, or hide in the back of 18-wheelers to reach our country.” He is right. This has to stop. Men, women and children are put in physical danger needlessly. As long as there is money and shelter on the other side, no wall is going to stop them. People are literally dying to get here.
Will a Temporary Worker Program help? In his speech tonight, our President said, “A temporary worker program would meet the needs of our economy, and it would give honest immigrants a way to provide for their families while respecting the law. A temporary worker program would reduce the appeal of human smugglers, and make it less likely that people would risk their lives to cross the border. It would ease the financial burden on state and local governments by replacing illegal workers with lawful taxpayers.”
If this program will truly cut down on human smugglers and make it less likely for people to risk their lives, I am for it. I am not convinced that this alone will solve the problem. Of course, he really it is not depending on this alone (is he?). That is why he has five objectives.
Objective #3 – Tamper Proof Identification: I like this one. Will country follow through with the plan? If employers are prosecuted for hiring anyone who is not an American and does not carry this identification, then I am a whole-hearted supporter.
Of course, this is not the emphasis that our President offers. He does not mention prosecuting employers during this objective. He simply says it will make it “harder for illegal immigrants to find work in our country”. These are not exactly fear-causing words.
Objective #4 – Opposition to Amnesty: This does not sound like an objective, but an opinion. However, I agree with our President on this one, too. He says, “Some in this country argue that the solution is to deport every illegal immigrant -- and that any proposal short of this amounts to amnesty. I disagree. It is neither wise nor realistic to round up millions of people, many with deep roots in the United States, and send them across the border.” I am as amazed about this as I am about the 12,000 mile wall.
Seemingly intelligent men and women are screaming for every illegal alien to be deported. I feel like I am in a Twilight Zone episode to see that President Bush is a “voice of reason” on this point.
Where I get lost is this insistence on people who come to America to learn to speak English. I would believe they would want to learn to speak English in order to assimilate into society, but why insist? Most people I know learn how to drive at sixteen but many people in cities do not drive cars. Do we need to deport them for finding alternative ways of transportation? Why fuss about people who can capably communicate, just not in the same language as the majority of our country?
Objective #5 – The American Melting Pot: Again, no real objective here, but this is the point the flute and drum start up behind the speaker and the flags begin to wave. This section appears to be more about speaking English than anything else.
Earlier today I listened to Senator Barack Obama’s podcast of 05/04/06 (I know. I am behind). It can be found at Senator Obama’s website. In it he refers to a “servant class”. He is talking about people who mow lawns and pick lettuce and do the jobs regular Americans do not want. This sounds an awful lot to me like a class of people in America back in the 19th century. These were people doing work that “regular Americans” would not do. They were not paid the way “regular Americans” were paid. They were not expected to pay taxes. They were not treated as citizens. One difference I see between the “servant class” of the 21st century and that of the 19th century is that the current group comes here voluntarily.
The most important objective is the one that our President didn’t specifically outline but simply brushed over amid his other objectives. The closest he comes is saying, “A tamper-proof card would help us enforce the law, and leave employers with no excuse for violating it.” It does not define what we will do to employers, but it is a message of sorts that people employing illegal immigrants must stop.
We must prosecute Americans. I know that is a bitter pill, but if you want to stop illegal immigration you must stop worrying about those coming in and stop the ones giving them the money and shelter they seek.
In March of this year, Molly Ivins wrote, " You can also imprison the corporate official who actually hired the illegal and, just to make sure, put some Betty Sue Billups -- housewife, preferably one with blonde hair in a flip -- in the joint for a two-year stretch for hiring a Mexican gardener. Thus Americans are reminded that the law says it is illegal to hire illegal workers and that anyone who hires one is responsible for verifying whether or not his or her papers are in order. If you get fooled and one slips by you, too bad, you go to jail anyway. When there are no jobs for illegal workers, they do not come. Got it?”
The talk of immigration is an incredible red herring. It is intended to distract us from the real issues of the day. Those currently in office do not want us thinking about Iraq, Iran, Abramoff, New Orleans and other dubious issues. They want us to believe that illegal immigrants are our enemy.
As Obama and so many others have stated, written and reported, the problem if illegal immigration has been in our country for years. Will this President’s proposal resolve it? No, but if implemented correctly, it may help.
The real question is: Will it be implemented correctly? If the past six years are any example, we may be witnessing the start of another mission with a messy outcome.
If you have an opinion, now is the time to make it known. Do not wait. Write, call, email, shout, sing, scream, pray aloud, do a dance, or whatever you can think to make an impact. Get in touch with a Congressman or Senator or even your local paper.
Remember that this is still America. Ideas are welcome.
Labels: Politics
posted by Alexander Dimm | 10:06 PM
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